Chapter 176: The Collapse of

Since the premiere of "Warring States," Brilliant Stars had once again ramped up its promotional efforts.

In the media, in the theaters — the shadow of this film was everywhere.

Finally, the day of its public release arrived.

Early that morning, the portal sites had already hung up a huge headline: "'Warring States' to Officially Release Today."

"Popular young starlet Miss Jing Tian plays the role of the literary-and-martial female general Tian Xi in 'Warring States'!"

"'Warring States' — Stunning Special Effects, Not to Be Missed."

"Tiangong Color, as the country's top special-effects company, provided unparalleled VFX support for 'Warring States'…"

…………

The promotional reports online were all quite good, and they truly drew a large wave of audiences into the theaters.

Among the guests who had attended the premiere that day, quite a few were also keeping an eye on "Warring States'" opening-day box office.

After all, this film, on the surface, really did seem a bit hard to describe.

Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei were also quite curious about the first day's numbers.

He had heard that the screening allocation given by Wanda was not low at all.

The next morning, "Warring States'" box-office figures appeared on the portal sites.

17.5 million!

Seeing this decent number, Lin Nan didn't find it strange — after all, it was only the first day.

But the internet had already completely exploded.

"I've seen 'The Promise,' I've seen 'Curse of the Golden Flower,' I've seen 'The Banquet'… and now I've seen 'Warring States'! Oh God…"

"What sin did I commit in a past life? F*ck!"

"Can't even describe it — rotten to the core."

"The script and the lines — simply moronic, disgusting to the extreme…"

"The director is severely lacking in historical knowledge, the screenwriter never finished elementary school, the actors are all cringing their way through…"

"As a comedy, it's actually passable…"

…………

A flood of bad reviews and mockery appeared beneath "Warring States'" Weibo posts, and the count was still climbing fast.

The handful of positive reviews stood out a little.

"The special effects are beyond reproach — Lin Dao's Tiangong Color gave it their all, but they still couldn't carry this film…"

"Every shot of Miss Jing Tian is gorgeous! But her acting really can't carry a big-female-lead role.

And the director and production team they hired were truly trash…"

…………

Lu Zheng was also keeping an eye on the outside reaction at this moment, his face dark and gloomy.

Beside him, Miss Jing Tian was also anxious and uneasy, not knowing what to do.

She had never imagined she would botch this film. Though this really couldn't be pinned on any single person.

"This is only the first day — let's wait a few more days and see…"

Lu Zheng glanced at Miss Jing Tian, forced a smile, and offered in consolation.

On the second day, the box office plunged by more than three million, reporting 14.2 million.

On the third day, it dropped another two million-plus, reporting 10.8 million.

Outside, "Warring States'" word-of-mouth was on the verge of total collapse.

As the production company, Brilliant Stars issued several "explanations," to no avail.

Sun Sun Honglei, Miss Jing Tian, Wu Wu Zhenyu, Jiang Wu…

None of the lead cast escaped — they all became targets of abuse.

The wording was bottomless, filthy and obscene…

Among those directors who had once regretted missing the chance to direct "Warring States," a small portion of them now felt a sense of having narrowly escaped disaster.

…………

Just as Lin Nan had predicted, he and Ning Hao had also been dragged into it.

"Very fortunate that Lin Dao and Director Ning Hao didn't take this film — otherwise…"

"Hard to say — if Lin Dao had taken it himself and could rework the script, the result definitely wouldn't have been like this!"

"Upstairs — then you'd have to swap in Liu Liu Yifei to play the female lead…"

…

On the fourth day, "Warring States'" box office dropped straight to 8.44 million.

The entire film circle understood that this, one of only two big-budget productions of April, was destined to take a massive loss.

The mockery and abuse online grew ever fiercer, even showing a faint trend toward cyberbullying of the actors personally.

At this point, the media began reaching out to the lead cast for one-on-one interviews and talk segments.

Sun Sun Honglei came across as relatively level-headed.

"Before the release, I only saw the rough cut — I gave myself 40 points. After seeing the finished film, I gave myself 20 points.

Not long after shooting began, I offered some of my own opinions to the crew and participated in designing the 'Sun Bin' you all see now. Of course, the facts prove I was getting ahead of myself and ruined the character — haha…"

"Given how the film is now, honestly, you can't pin it on any one person.

If you really want to talk responsibility, it's the whole project's — maybe from the very start of shooting, the direction was already off."

…………

Wu Wu Zhenyu was also quite the man — he didn't say anything to shift the blame.

Miss Jing Tian, looking haggard, accepted the interview — clearly badly shaken by the voices online.

Something happened that took the public by surprise.

Lin Nan never expected that the first actor to start a war of words with the production would be Jiang Wu.

In front of the media, the latter called out by name the director and production team of "Warring States."

He stated outright that the director had cut a great deal of his scenes — and all the "best" parts at that — leaving only the bland, painless shots behind; a thoroughly stupid move!

The director's side responded immediately: a 30-day contract had been signed, yet Jiang Wu only showed up for 7 days, spread across 5 separate visits, throwing off the shooting schedule of many other actors…

The film hadn't even been in theaters a full week before the production started tearing itself apart — the whole thing instantly became the industry's biggest joke.

Day-five box office: 6.55 million;

Day-six box office: 4.15 million.

With that, "Warring States" had been out 6 days, and its opening-weekend box office came in at 61.64 million.

Compared to its enormous investment, this figure was nothing short of shameful.

Even so, that opening-weekend haul of 61.64 million was still the weekly box-office champion of the past two months.

The sluggishness of the film market was plain to see.

The "Guan Yu" crew was rather sly — at this moment they jumped out and stomped on "Warring States."

"An adaptation can't lose its 'roots' — the historical epic 'Guan Yu' is coming soon to theaters!"

This newly coined tagline was a bare-faced jab at the criticism "Warring States" had drawn the most: "floating free of history, reckless rewrites."

The online abuse aimed at Miss Jing Tian didn't lessen — it grew worse, with every kind of ugly remark imaginable…

This made Liu Liu Yifei think once more of her own past — those rumors and slander that had once been aimed at her.

"She's a bit like how I was back then."

"You had it way worse back then! But luckily, you knew how to give yourself chicken soup for the soul, hehe…"

Lin Nan paid no mind to Liu Liu Yifei's eye-roll and said with a smile.

Miss Jing Tian's case was simply one film, plus the over-promotion by Lu Zheng, biting back.

Liu Liu Yifei, on the other hand, had blocked the path of a great many actresses back then — people blackening her name and spreading rumors were everywhere — so it was easy to understand her feeling it in her bones now.

"You're the chatty one! Back then you were like a block of wood — never even thought to call and comfort me."

Hearing Lin Nan's words, Liu Liu Yifei suddenly remembered something, said it with a huff, and glared at her boyfriend.

"Some young guy, always calling my underage daughter — your mother must have all sorts of thoughts about me.

Besides, don't I text and chat with you all the time? And I called plenty of times, but your auntie always picked up…"

Before Lin Nan could finish, Liu Liu Yifei burst out laughing.

She recalled how, back then, she had often hidden under the covers to secretly call Lin Nan — only to be caught by her own mother again and again, as if she were under surveillance.

………

This was Zhao Zhao Liying's last visit to Huayi Brothers Artist Management.

Even though she'd already said she wouldn't renew, there were still some necessary paperwork and documents to handle and sign.

"Zhao Liying, are you really leaving?"

A few minor artists who happened to be at the company, upon seeing Zhao Zhao Liying, asked curiously.

They used to be rivals, fighting over small roles. But since she was leaving, the rivalry was gone.

"Yes, I've been at the company five years — I want to try developing somewhere else."

Zhao Zhao Liying nodded, smiled, and walked toward Li Xue's office.

Li Li Bingbing had left Huayi and gone off to run her own studio. But her younger sister was still the president — the actual manager — of Huayi Brothers Artist Management.

Every artist's coming or going had to pass through Li Xue's hands in the end.

"She looks… a little different somehow?" someone asked, puzzled.

"What's different? Doesn't she still look the same?"

Zhao Zhao Liying had originally been the champion of Feng Feng Xiaogang's group in the "Yahoo Star Search," so by rights she should have had some connection to that great director — there was no way she should have ended up doing so poorly!

But this was Huayi — the company's habit was to leave newcomers to fend for themselves, never paying them much attention, let alone for a rural girl with no background and no formal training.

"Seems like she's changed a bit — she used to be really shy around people, but this time she's actually open and at ease?!"

Li Xue's office.

Recently, two minor artists had reached the end of their contracts and chosen not to renew.

When the agents below submitted the reports, Li Xue had actually taken a careful look.

The one coming in today — how to put it — had acted in quite a few TV dramas, looked quite cute, but never made any waves.

In her view, that kind of look still had potential. Of course, it might just need a better opportunity.

A knock sounded at the door; Li Xue called out "Come in."

The moment Zhao Zhao Liying came in, she was still a little nervous — after all, minor artists almost never got the chance to set foot in Li Xue's office.

But the next instant, Zhao Zhao Liying's heart settled back to normal, because she remembered Yue Jun's words.

"Li Zong, my contract has expired — I've come to handle the paperwork."

Li Xue took a careful look at Zhao Zhao Liying. She hadn't paid much attention to these minor artists before, but looking now, the girl really was quite sweet-looking.

"Are you sure? Huayi is a top company in the industry — once you leave, getting back in won't be easy."

Li Xue reminded her casually — one last chance for the girl in front of her.

"I've already made up my mind. I won't renew."

Zhao Zhao Liying was firm and decisive.

"Hmm?"

Li Xue frowned slightly, then the corner of her mouth curled into a faint, barely visible smirk.

At that moment, Li Xue reached a new verdict on Zhao Zhao Liying. A small actress with no emotional intelligence and no sense of favor — she'd never amount to anything.

"Then sign this 'Contract Expiration Document.' From now on, you can't use the Huayi name to take jobs outside…"

In less than five minutes, Zhao Zhao Liying left Huayi Management Company with her copy of the document.

"Go, delete her information from the official website."

"Li Zong, should we issue a public announcement?"

"No need. A nobody of an artist — issuing an announcement would just be giving her free publicity…"

…………

The moment Zhao Zhao Liying stepped out of Huayi Management Company's front door, a brilliant smile spread across her face.

She couldn't wait to make a phone call.

"Director Yue, I've finished the procedures at Huayi."

"Good."

…………

That afternoon, Zhao Zhao Liying posted a Weibo update.

"Today my five-year contract with Huayi Management Company has expired. An amicable parting…"

Barely anyone liked it — most were even more obscure small actresses than her — but there were still a few industry celebrities.

For instance, Jiang Jiang Xuerou, Xu Zheng…

That same afternoon, Enlight Media publicly released the final casting list for "The Four Great Constables."

There was only one name on the list!

"'The Four Great Constables,' Female Lead: Wuqing, to be played by actress Zhao Zhao Liying."

The moment Enlight Media's news was released, it caught the industry's attention.

Most actresses and management companies had never even heard the name — they had no idea where this connected party had popped up from!

Only over at Huayi Management Company did things instantly get lively.

When the subordinates reported the matter to Li Xue, the latter looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"This is clearly a case of her lining up the next company before the contract expired! How dare they poach Huayi's people?"

"I'm going to head over to the film company — I need to have a word with President Wang. Heh heh…"

…………

Next chapter, still a bit later.